Hey guys ive been browsing the site for quite some time. And decided to ask my first question...

My current setup

Logic pro 7
G5 2.5ghz 2gb ram etc...
Motu 828mk2
Emagic AMT 8
Event TR8's
Oberheim Xpander
Roland jupiter 6
Sequential Pro One
Gibson les paul
fender american strat
Mesa boogie f30

Id like to upgrade a bit in a near future with more outboard gear.

2 great river ME1-NV w/ EQ1-NV's
2 stereo linked Distressors with british mod
RME fireface 800
Some sort of audio patch bay...
mid rangeeffects units
KSP8, eclipse, pcm 91 etc.
mackie hr824's

My first question is with this setup would the great rivers act as decent DI box's for my synths and secondly would the RME's converters be able to accurately represent the sound coming through the great river pre's? I do mostly dance music/synth pop....

Thanks in advance,

Nice synths and i like that f30 too. I just recorded one recently.

How many tracks do you record at once? If only 2 max, then you should just buy a 2 channel converter and use it with your Motu.

Well my Plan was too arrange etc.... Then when i was ready to do a final mix bounce each synth through great river mic pre/DI box and eq etc. As for live recording i think it would be cool to record my guitar in stereo.... Soo yeah i guess the max inputs of prisitine audio would be 2....


Also would analog summing be something that would interest me? Bounce everything to audio in the daw then doing the final bounce through a analog summing box?

bump

If you only need 2 I/O, a stereo convertor is fine enough yeah. That said, the Fireface sounds pretty good for the money

The Great River sure will make an excellent DI for your synths.

Analog summing is no must, tho can be nice. It's not cheap as you need rather some decent quality D/A's as well.

Would it be better for me to sell the motu and get the fireface or just buy new converters? something a apogee or something else...

If you'd get the Fireface, the Motu wouldn't be needed anymore, they both are soundcards with a number for convertors onboard.
But if you choose to add some 'high-end' convertors, you can hook them up to the Motu via ADAT (up to 8channels) or spdif (2 channels) depending on what connections and I/O's are available on the extra convertor. No need for the Fireface then.

Last question how big of a step up is the RME converters over the motu... It may be better for me to just purchase a rosetta 800 or something ..

i would say that the step between the MotU and the RME is smaller than the step between the RME and the rosetta 800. i replaced a MH 2882+DSP w/ the rosetta 800-192. now, apart from the mic pres i thought i experiencing tolerable digital w/ the MH. everything that i had heard that was 'better' was a LOT more money. when i had a chance to listen to the rosetta 800 i wasn't prepared for the jump in quality over the MH. so i offed the MH to a new home and purchased the apogee. they actually didn't have a 192 in stock so i was given an RME as a loaner. the fireface sounded brighter than the MH with good transient response and an accurate and clear sound. compared to the MH i thought it sounded a bit clinical. but the apogee is really a whole different beast - clarity, speed, transient detail, good microdynamics, nice translation of size of soundstage in stereo tracks, with ultra low levels of electronic grain and that digital "glare" that my ears seem to be so sensitive to. not quite DSD, but pretty darned good for a medium i thought i would never really be happy with. clocked to the big ben.
the digital future might not be so bright after all. (a ironic pun)

Rosetta 800/96k in my rig; if you can swing it, you won't regret it, plus you won't have to worry about running out of inputs or outputs. I put off a couple of things to get that Rosetta, but no complaints at all. On top of that, yeah, the Big Ben can take the Rosetta up a notch (at least) should you ever feel the need.

Sounds like you've got some nice stuff there; can't really argue with your 'want' list except for the Mackie monitors. That's really subjective territory, but I will go as far as to say that I can't get happy about HR824's. I've worked with them, ok, but I just can't get happy about them.

Wow thanks for the great post guys...... You are putting me towards the Rosetta ......
As for the mackies.... They are pretty neutral and i have to post production on them for the past year soo i know what sounds good on them and Id hate to have to learn a new speaker.... I really enjoy the dynaudio speakers but they are a bit more expensive and i cant justify changing something I know and that works well for me...